Germany takes bookkeeping unusually seriously, and the rules are written into commercial law rather than left to convention. A merchant's books must be kept so that an outsider can follow every transaction, and the principles governing that are published as the GoBD.
For anyone working in a German-speaking finance team, the vocabulary is therefore half accounting and half compliance. Learn the words for the ledger, the voucher and the close, and you can join a bookkeeping department while your general German is still on its way.
The Words of the Numbers
| German term | English meaning |
|---|---|
| die Buchhaltung | the bookkeeping |
| die Buchführung | the keeping of the books |
| der Buchhalter | the bookkeeper |
| der Beleg | the voucher or receipt |
| die Buchung | the posting |
| der Umsatz | the turnover |
| die Bilanz | the balance sheet |
| die GuV | the profit and loss account |
The distinction between Buchhaltung and Buchführung is worth fixing early, because the first is the department and the second is the legal duty. A Buchung is a single posting supported by a Beleg, and every posting must be traceable to its voucher years later.
Konten and the Kontenrahmen
| German term | English meaning |
|---|---|
| das Konto | the account |
| der Kontenrahmen | the chart of accounts |
| die Kontonummer | the account number |
| das Sachkonto | the general ledger account |
| das Bestandskonto | the balance sheet account |
| das Erfolgskonto | the income statement account |
| die Kostenstelle | the cost centre |
| der Buchungssatz | the double entry |
Most German companies use one of two standard charts of accounts, SKR 03 and SKR 04, and the four-digit account numbers are so widely shared that an accountant can move between firms without relearning them. A Buchungssatz is read aloud as a short formula, naming the debited account first.
Belege: the Paper Trail
| German term | English meaning |
|---|---|
| die Belegpflicht | the duty to keep vouchers |
| der Eingangsbeleg | the incoming voucher |
| der Ausgangsbeleg | the outgoing voucher |
| die Belegnummer | the voucher number |
| die Aufbewahrungsfrist | the retention period |
| die Unveränderbarkeit | the immutability of records |
| die Nachvollziehbarkeit | the traceability |
| die Kassenführung | the management of the till |
Germany shortened the retention period for booking vouchers from ten years to eight with effect from the start of 2025, but the longer ten-year period still applies to accounts, balance sheets and annual reports. Immutability matters as much as retention: once a posting is made, it is corrected by a new entry rather than by editing the old one.
Soll und Haben
| German term | English meaning |
|---|---|
| Soll | debit |
| Haben | credit |
| die Sollseite | the debit side |
| die Habenseite | the credit side |
| der Saldo | the balance |
| die Forderung | the receivable |
| die Verbindlichkeit | the liability |
| der Zahlungseingang | the receipt of payment |
German double-entry uses Soll and Haben rather than debit and credit, and the two words are used as nouns throughout a conversation. Getting the direction right matters more in German than in English, because the vocabulary is a direct map of the entry rather than a general description of it.
Abschreibung
| German term | English meaning |
|---|---|
| die Abschreibung | the depreciation |
| die lineare Abschreibung | the straight-line depreciation |
| die degressive Abschreibung | the declining-balance depreciation |
| das Anlagegut | the fixed asset |
| die Nutzungsdauer | the useful life |
| die AfA-Tabelle | the official depreciation table |
| der Restwert | the residual value |
| der Investitionsabzug | the investment deduction |
Depreciation in Germany follows published tables rather than a company's own judgement, and the Nutzungsdauer for each type of asset is set out in the AfA tables. Straight-line is the default, declining-balance is available for some movable assets, and a change of method is recorded rather than made quietly.
The Monthly Close
| German term | English meaning |
|---|---|
| der Monatsabschluss | the monthly close |
| die Abstimmung | the reconciliation |
| das offene Posten | the open items list |
| die Rückstellung | the provision |
| die Abgrenzung | the accrual |
| die Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung | the advance VAT return |
| die Frist | the deadline |
| das Zahlungsziel | the payment term |
The monthly close is a sequence rather than a single task: post the vouchers, reconcile the bank, work the open items, book the accruals and file the advance VAT return. Germany requires the Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung monthly or quarterly depending on turnover, and the deadline is the tenth day of the following month.
Working with the Steuerberater
| German term | English meaning |
|---|---|
| der Steuerberater | the tax adviser |
| die Steuererklärung | the tax return |
| die Betriebsprüfung | the tax audit |
| die Unterlagen | the documents |
| die Rückfrage | the query |
| die Fristverlängerung | the extension of a deadline |
| die Vertretung | the representation before the tax office |
| die Vollmacht | the power of attorney |
Many German companies outsource the tax return to a Steuerberater while keeping the daily bookkeeping in house, which means the two sides exchange documents continuously rather than once a year. A clean, complete and numbered handover at the end of each quarter saves both parties a great deal of correspondence.
Bank, Kasse und der Zahlungsverkehr
| German term | English meaning |
|---|---|
| der Bankauszug | the bank statement |
| die Kontobewegung | the account movement |
| die Ueberweisung | the transfer |
| die Lastschrift | the direct debit |
| der Dauerauftrag | the standing order |
| die Ruecklastschrift | the returned direct debit |
| die Abgleichung | the reconciliation |
| das Zahlungsziel | the payment term |
Every posting that touches money has to be matched to a movement on the bank statement, and that matching is the daily discipline of German bookkeeping. A returned direct debit is booked back immediately, because the cash position was never real while the payment was in doubt.
The Kasse is reconciled separately and more often, since cash offers fewer traces than a transfer. A bookkeeper who clears the cash box weekly and the bank daily is working to the rhythm that an audit expects. To work in a German finance team, learn German with the voucher, account and close vocabulary, since the deadlines repeat every month.
The bars show the order of the stages; each value is a sequence number rather than a duration.
Working in German Finance
Bookkeeping roles in Germany are filled at several levels, from the clerk who posts vouchers to the accountant who prepares the annual statements, and the entry level asks far more for accuracy than for fluent speech. Familiarity with DATEV, the dominant accounting software in Germany, is frequently named in job advertisements.
Because the vocabulary is fixed and the deadlines are periodic, the job is unusually friendly to a learner who prepares in advance. If you want to learn German for finance work, the voucher, ledger and close vocabulary is the practical place to begin.
German bookkeeping is law first and arithmetic second. Learn German for finance with vouchers, accounts and the monthly close built into the course.
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